BROTHERS SHARE THE LEADERBOARD IN BASSMASTER CLASSIC

Bigger fish starting to show on Red River, adding to unpredictability of tournament’s final round

SHREVEPORT, La. 
On the sport’s biggest stage, in the biggest bass tournament of their lives, two brothers who were born to fish and who learned to fish from their grandfather and father on lakes in Florida will try to win their first Bassmaster Classic today on the Red River.

Bobby and Chris Lane are the first brothers to qualify for the same Bassmaster Classic twice, with the previous one in 2008.

After Day Two of the 42nd Bassmaster Classic, Chris is on top with 35 pounds, 8 ounces, 1 pound ahead of Alabama’s Greg Vinson, who has 34-8. Alton Jones of Texas, the only angler in the top 16 who has won a Classic, is third with 31-11, and Bobby Lane is fourth with 30-12, just under five pounds behind his younger brother.

Chris Lane put together the biggest stringer of the tournament Saturday at 19 pounds, 4 ounces. Bobby Lane checked in 14 pounds, 8 ounces a day after the brothers tied for sixth on Day One with 16 pounds, 4 ounces.

Chris said the brothers believe this is only the beginning of them fishing the same Classic.

“We talked about it on the way here, and the one thing that we were excited about is we’re going to make this happen more than twice,” Chris Lane said. “I told my dad yesterday, if there ever was a Classic to be won by one of the Lane brothers, this one is the one we’ll have a pretty good shot at.”

It was cut-down day at the Classic. Twenty-five of the 49 anglers survived the cut and will fish the muddy Red River for the $500,000 first-place money and the most prestigious trophy in bass fishing.

Among the notables who missed the cut were former San Diegan Dean Rojas (33rd), Classic winner Mike Iaconelli (who lost a tie-breaker to Takahiro Omori for 25th) and Hughson, Calif., angler Ishama Monroe (40th).

“The female bass showed up today, and now it’s anybody’s Classic,” said Bobby Lane, who said it was a “dream come true” to join his brother at the top of the leaderboard going into the final day of the Classic. “It could be lights out Sunday. We’re around a lot of bedding fish.”

They’ll have plenty of competition, not only from the top six that includes Edwin Evers of Talala, Okla., and Dustin Wilks of Rocky Mount, N.C., but the always dangerous former Californian, Aaron Martens, who now lives in Leeds, Ala.

Martens is in eighth place with 29-9, just under 6 pounds from the lead after catching over 25 bass (keeping five) Saturday. It would be just like Martens to sneak up on these guys and win his first Classic after suffering through four second-place finishes in his career. Will his 13th Classic be the lucky one where he breaks out of that seconditis funk?

“If I go out there and catch 23 to 24 pounds, my chances go way up, and it’s possible,” Martens said. “I’m in a spot where there is a 22-plus pound bag there.”